Review by Tim Lam
Book | Workship: How to Use Your Work to Worship God | Kara Martin
The average Australian spends more than 40 hours a week at work. With our occupations consuming so much of our daily lives, it can be easy to relegate faith to a part-time activity.
In Workship, author Kara Martin explores how Christians can worship God through their daily work in creative and spiritually-fulfilling ways.
Drawing on her own experiences as a former television reporter, Martin seeks to bridge the divide between the secular world of the workforce and the spiritual world of worship.
Workship is filled with short vignettes that illustrate the diversity of ethical, spiritual and personal dilemmas faced by Christians in their daily work life.
The stories cover a wide range of professions and detail the conflicts that arise when a person’s faith clashes with their workplace culture. Anecdotes are intertwined with theological reflections to provide a spiritual antidote for those struggling in a toxic work environment.
In addition to its strong biblical underpinnings, Workship offers practical advice on how to rediscover the spiritual value of daily work. Each chapter ends with a prayer and reflection questions that invite the reader to ponder how they are fulfilling their God-given gifts.
A highlight of the book is a section on the six spiritual disciplines developed by Martin to help Christians integrate faith with their work. These overlapping disciplines offer different approaches to practicing the gospel in the workplace. A questionnaire in the appendix section offers a valuable resource for groups and individuals to identify their preferred spiritual discipline.
Martin’s journalism background means she conveys her stories in a crisp and accessible writing style that steers clear of theological jargon.
It is a book suitable for both seasoned professionals and young people entering the workforce for the first time.
While it may be an easy read, Workship offers plenty of thought-provoking ideas that will stimulate self-reflection beyond the pages of the book.
Workship was shortlisted for the 2017 Australian Christian Book of the Year.
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